


Fear of Water

by GrumpkinVicky



Category: Dragon Age (Video Games), Dragon Age: Inquisition, Raft - Fandom
Genre: Audio Format: MP3, Exhaustion, F/M, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Multi, Not Canon Compliant, Ocean, Portals, Post-Dragon Age: Inquisition - Trespasser DLC, Sharks, Slow Build
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-12
Updated: 2020-04-12
Packaged: 2021-03-01 23:00:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 15,507
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23614879
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GrumpkinVicky/pseuds/GrumpkinVicky
Summary: Cadash is ready for the final confrontation with her old companion Solas. She stepped through to her inevitable death, only to appear on a small wooden raft, with the man himself, Cole following closely behind. With no means of returning, and nothing more than the dead body of the rafts original inhabitant, they must work together to survive. Even if they don't fully know what everything is floating in the water.
Relationships: Female Cadash/Solas
Comments: 1
Kudos: 8





	Fear of Water

**Author's Note:**

> For my friends with small children and limited time, I recorded the 1hr 40-minute version. I apologise for the lack of voices - I did my best but ;)
> 
> https://drive.google.com/open?id=10_gdcpItaFym1bV0vTLdu-atK1PvYGud (looking at uploading it to youtube but effort)

She’d been stalking the bastard for what seemed like hours. Her arm hurt, and he was just being the worlds biggest prick. No wonder he’d flirted and then turned her down. It wasn’t “Oh no, I don’t do dwarves,” it was “Oh no, I don’t do mortals.” Immortal prick.

The others were watching her with these big limpid eyes. Yes, her arm looked like it was going to explode, but she wasn’t in the mood for emotional goodbyes. Cole would stick about and say them for her.

“I’ll be back in a bit, if not, so long and thanks for the support. Tell Cullen, he was a great lay, but yeah the crying was slightly off-putting. Cassandra you are an absolute boss and shit, and Dorian, sorry about the whole well you know…” Killing Bull had been awkward. Who’d’ve thought the bastard would turn to the dark side. Although maybe after the Chargers had parted ways that was probably a big sign.

“And Cole, you slippery wonderful bastard, make sure the prick doesn’t lie too much about me. Make sure I get bigger tits than Hawke, and make sure he puts in the bit where I slept with Bianca in his bed while he was locked out.” That’d do it. 

She couldn’t be bothered to wait for them to weep about how wonderful she was, she knew she was the best damn thing to happen to the world. Cadash had known from the moment she’d clawed her way up the ranks of her family business.

“Shit - and tell Alistair, the baby is with my sister, but he’ll have to you know, wrestle her to get it back.” Cassandra’s face was a picture. Leave them guessing and wanting more. It was a sure-fire way to be infamous.

“Tallyho and what what.” She stepped through the mirror, who the fuck thought mirrors were a suitable mode of transportation.

The ground was not steady, and there was splashing. It was colourful too, lots of blue and water shit she couldn’t swim! She’d sink to the bottom and die like one of those golem statues.

Someone caught her. “Cole, you were supposed to stay and fill them in on my Inquisitorial demands!” She recognised those blades anywhere. Partly because they’d crafted them while high as balls on whatever madness Clemence had concocted. 

They were not alone.

“You prick!”

“Inquisitor - before you say or do anything, we are stuck.” Solas was scrambling, she’d not seen him this nervy since she’d launched herself off the top of that big tower in the Hinterlands on top of one of those big buggers with the sweet two-hander she’d given to Bull.

“Not - oh sorry Cadash, I know I fucked off leaving you to sweep up after the whole shitting battle where we lost friends, because I dropped your stupid ball. Or - yeah I know that this belongs to me, that thing that’s been eating up your arm, and sorry about that. But don’t fucking move?!” The bastard had the grace to look slightly ashamed.

“I apologise for how you feel.” Not good enough.

“She doesn’t think it’s good enough.” Cole was ever helpful.

“It’s true, I don’t.” Although her arm wasn’t currently hurting, in fact, she felt pretty good all in all. 

“I think it’s inert,” Solas had the cheek to try and bamboozle her again. Not likely.

“Is that a shark?” Cole was busy pointing at a fin in the water.

“Yes.” Solas looked unsure. He never looked unsure unless it involved her jumping off big things before he could steal his power back.

“And what's all that in the water?” things were bobbing up and down. More importantly - was that a person? “Cover me!” because she was the Inquisitor and she was going to do her best to save the person from the shark even if she was going to drown doing it. At least she’d go out in a blaze of glory.

“Cadash, please don’t,” Solas sounded uneasy. She ignored him. Because he was a massive prick, who didn’t deserve to be listened to. Cole bless him had his bow out. She could trust he would be useful.

Paddling, it was what she did, paddled, badly, she could see the shark circling her, but the arrows were keeping it from biting. The body was human, in basic clothes, female and dead. Missing a chunk of torso, still, better to drag it back to the small raft. She even managed to snag a couple of the arrows as she came back.

“Now what?” Solas was looking disgruntled. He had no reason to have that attitude, it was his fault they were in this predicament.

“Help me up, ungrateful bastard.” Because he clearly hadn’t realised that they were stuck with no land in sight and no food. She knew he ate, he’d eaten all the blasted time. Also the shark had skimmed under her feet and if it had taken a chunk out of the poor sod she’d brought on board, well then…

Thank the stone that Cole had followed her, because Solas was as much use as a Templar in a brothel. 

“Right, as you are doing sweet nothing, all in favour of me taking charge say aye. Aye.”

“Aye,” she could rely on Cole.

“Aye,” Solas was not supposed to say aye, he was supposed to be all, take charge now he was trying to destroy the known world. Granted perhaps he had and this was it, but she doubted it. In part because she could see the faint silhouette of the moon and there was only one. Unless of course his great plan had been destroying one of them. She wouldn’t put it past him at this point.

She at least had her weapons and a couple of rations, health potions and various other supplies. She hadn’t got everything that would have been highly useful at this point. Like her entire army. She did have some of her tools though, because she didn’t trust the buggers not to run off with her family hammer.

Time to strip the corpse. She was pretty, she had been pretty. 

“Hey Solas, would you have done her, or is she too human for you?” Cole stabbed into the water and the fin swam away. 

“I’m sorry,” he didn’t sound sorry. He sounded nervous.

“Hey Solas - do you not like water?” she’d rub his nose in it if that was it.

“Cadash, I understand that you believe I have been unkind to you in the past, but perhaps we could focus on our present situation.” No. No, she wouldn’t.

Oooh, what was that - a damp book, and a hook and a potato? Odd but the hook she liked, and the book with its little list of items they could make with ingredients.

“Oi, Wolf boy, or sorry - Wolf Man, have a look at this while I try playing a carnival game.” Cole was doing a grand job at picking up stuff that floated near to the raft, while stabbing at the shark as it veered too near. 

“Please call me Solas.” Maybe when he deserved it. He did take the book and was busy reading it as she managed to hook a barrel that was bobbing on the surface, and leaves, lots of leaves.

“Right, we’re stuck right, so we need to assign roles. Cole is wonderful at his, as he is at many things. And you are a prick with his nose in a book - you can be in charge of turning this stuff we bring on into useful stuff. Like more space and a chair.” Because there was a stone in her boot and paddling had got it stuck between her toes and she needed to get rid. Preferably at his head.

It was pretty relaxing, other than the shark bit. Tossing the hook into the water and pulling it back. 

“It would seem we can make a water purifier.” Did he want a prize?

“Can’t you just make it rain?” He was supposed to be a god, surely he could make it rain. He could make her rain in her soul, just listening to him try and explain what he was trying to do. As if it mattered.

“No, this world… I do not have access to my magic.” Wonderful. Giant prick.

“Land ho!” Cole started jumping. Which made the raft bounce more than she was happy with. “Sorry.”

“We could make a paddle and reach it that way?” Solas was an idiot, because any fool could see they were on track to hit it straight on.

“We need an anchor, have we got enough stone yet?” Because they were amassing quite a bit of random tat, he kept looking at and making hmm noises. But not a lot of doing anything with it beyond keeping it in the middle of the raft. That hadn’t expanded. At all. 

“I believe so.” He didn’t sound sure, but they had time. They might reach it by nightfall, watching the sky. She was more concerned about the shark. It was looking beat up, which was good, but still, it hadn’t stopped attacking once. 

“Well make it happen, if we can anchor up, then we should sleep on dry land, and then make a plan as to what happens next.” Seemed reasonable to her.

He was busy braiding palm leaves, for rope, which was a smart idea. One she’d applaud him for it if wasn’t in the book. They’d managed to get more potatoes and turnips, the most delicious of meals. Lots of wood, lots and lots of wood which was all about the same size. A bit strange but then they were in a water world with a crazy shark so she couldn’t really complain.

“It’s almost dead,” Cole whispered, he didn’t look happy about it.

“That’s good news,” because they could eat the shark too, and Solas had been sniffy about eating the human. Her hook was almost dead, but Solas was “right on” getting her a new one. Like he was “right on” sorting through the stuff and making a builders hammer to create more space on the raft. And a chair. And a water purifier. And a grill. He’d listed off all the things they needed and done precisely none of it.

“We need it to die when we are at land,” Cole was oddly specific. 

“Why?” Better to ask the direct questions.

“Because it will sink and you won’t be able to harvest it and we will need to.” Which was true. Because if the Immortal twat had no magic, and the raft had floated a day away from where they’d come through, then they were not getting back. Which in some ways was her defeating the final enemy. Just not actually doing it, more locking him away so he couldn’t do anything to kill everyone.

They were nearing land, and the shark looked like it was all but gasping. They’d have maybe enough time to do a full sweep of the island before the sun went down, though there were no clouds so it should be bright out.

The anchor was… well basic. But also she wasn’t sure they would need it, looking at how the island was curved, the raft would hit straight in the middle in the natural bay of it. It didn’t look big either, a few trees with fruit which should deal with the water issue, at least for the time being. No other sign of life beyond a couple of birds. Birds that would die as soon as they were in range for shooting. She quite liked roast bird, tossed in salt which she could just dip in the water. Solas had tried the water, she could have told him from swimming in it that it was bad, but then she thought about it. He’d lied to her. Repeatedly. So no, he could drink saltwater and deal with it.

“We’ll pull it onto land completely, we can do it if there is just the three of us.” Cole nodded as she made the suggestion. There was no point killing the shark tonight, or keeping the boat where it could be destroyed. She hadn’t realised until now that sharks like to sharpen their teeth on wood. 

Solas was keeping very quiet.

“He feels lost,” Cole whispered in her ear. She refused to feel bad for him. He had no right to make her feel guilty after what he’d done. 

Sleep came easily, she was exhausted. Cole was curled up by her side and Solas by his. Because the old git hadn’t trusted, she wouldn’t stab him while he slept because she probably would. He was still asleep as she woke, with Cole shinning up a tree to toss down fruit so they could drink. If nothing else she was beginning to get a bit parched. She didn’t want to start draining her supply unnecessarily. 

They would need to have a chat about what supplies Solas had brought, because his staff was about as useful as a Templar at a tavern. 

“We’ll be able to investigate under the water when the shark is dead,” Cole said, throwing down another soft fruit. They’d found other fruits ground fruits, but not many. Even managed to harvest some seeds and she was damn well sure the big melons had millions of them. It was a little known fact that one of the ways she’d managed to entice Cullen had been from learning random farming shit. He’d not been impressed. But she’d still learnt it.

“We need dirt and something to put it in,” except the island was mainly sand. Sand was good for many things, like melting into glass but they couldn’t do that yet. They really needed to start work on the raft. More space for starters. 

“He’s awake, he’s just lost,” Cole whispered softly. She could understand that feeling, she understood it. She didn’t think the prat deserved to feel it. 

“Alright, we have things to do. Thirsty?” Because she wasn’t a complete cow. 

“Please,” he even sounded wretched. 

“You can tell me what you’ve got that’s useful, while we start work on the raft. Water, you said?” She glanced over to him where he was looking at the ripe soft fruit before biting into it. A little part of her wanted to lick the juice that trickled down his chin, and not just because she was thirsty although that was part of it. Now she’d started to be concerned about water, she couldn’t stop thinking about it.

“I’m sorry,” Cole sounded sorry, but she wasn’t sure why. He was stone sent as far as she was concerned. Far more useful than Solas. “I can’t help you forget,” ah. 

“Price paid for being almost human, you should have picked dwarf.” She tossed a stone at him, grinning as he juggled it.

“Cole-” No one was in the mood for a Solas lecture.

“Cole is fine, at least he didn’t try to destroy the world.” That shut him up.

“Alright, provisions people.” Because the body was starting to look a bit ropey and she wasn’t sure that salting it would do anything. They could probably use it as shark bait - though the shark hadn’t stopped circling. 

“I have enough rations for four days if we eat sparingly.” She was pretty proud of the amount she’d tucked away in her pack. And Dorian had accused her of trying to bring rats into the Winter Palace. As if she would… 

“Two days,” Cole opened up his. He had more useful things though, she was especially happy at the amount of daggers he had. And more useful stuff like flasks.

“None,” of course not. Because the bastard was an immortal god with god powers when they worked. She should have guessed.

“Alright, new plan of action, I keep finding root vegetables in the barrels and we have seeds now. Keep them, we’ll plant them and survive on fruit, shark meat and fish until we can get a crop going.” She hoped. Because looking at the pair of them, they believed her, which meant they had no knowledge of farming at all.

They’d also wasted time. The sun was heading to the high peak from what she could see.

“A builders hammer is odd,” Solas attempted.

“Odd how?”

“Well the materials it needs, four wood and two rope, but it doesn’t say how to make it work.” Why was he looking at her? Oh because she was the Captain as of the previous day.

“We have rope though,” she was checking. He’d spent a long time braiding plant leaves the previous night. She’d woken up twice because Cole had nudged her because her elbow had been in his ribs. He’d been weaving each time. She’d half expected him to have pushed the raft into the water and left them here.

“He needs us,” yeah, he did until he found a new orb and then they would be sweeping up his mess again. The fact Cole didn’t deny this didn’t make her feel any better.

“I don’t know how to put them together,” she could see that. He had a large pile of rope and the wood was together too.

She could see how it could work, but would need to bore a hole through the three planks to get the fourth through. She almost dropped the hammer, when she thought about it and picked up the materials and it just happened. 

“Did - did I just imagine that? Do I need to eat something?” Because she had definitely picked up the four planks and two lengths of rope and thought, and then hammer.

“That’s what happened,” Cole stared at it before picking up 6 planks, 3 stone and 2 rope and frowning. She didn’t know how it happened, but she’d blinked and he had an axe.

Plank and two of the odd material and she had another hook. Which was bewildering and useful as her hook was looking pretty weak in comparison to the new one. After that it was pretty giddy, they’d made lots of things. Solas cursed. A lot. His painstaking braiding of leaves were replaced by holding them and thinking and instant rope. She didn’t say anything after the first one. She wasn’t that cruel.

It was growing dark again, they’d been too occupied in making things from the book to pay attention to time. They had water, of sorts. They had food for a few days, and the shark for when the following morning came.

“Cadash, I truly am sorry.” He did sound it this time. She still wasn’t going to let him sleep in the middle, that place was only for Cole. 

“Go to sleep, big day ahead of us.” They’d used a lot of the wood already and the building hammer came with its own instructions on how to make things. They would need a lot more wood and the material no one knew the name for.

This time she’d woken before Cole. Not before Solas who had been quietly collecting fallen fruit from around the trees and piling them up around the small fire they’d created the night before. The body was definitely not good for eating, as it was swarming with flies, but they didn’t as yet have a decent shovel to bury it as Cole and Solas both demanded from her.

“There is a pit behind the larger of the trees,” ahh, because he was a god and had standards and didn’t use the water for relief. They’d already established the island was not for staying on. It had no real dirt at all. They had managed to create a small crop plot, which she was beyond pleased with. But the roots wouldn’t grow, because of the water issue. Water was her biggest concern.

“Thank you.” Because as Cole had whispered in her ear, they needed Solas too. Even without his magic, he had knowledge and would be able to use it to get them back if he could and he wouldn’t destroy everyone else.

“So the shark,” Cole appeared by her side, picking up a big melon and slicing it up, handing out slices that she accepted eagerly. And didn’t watch both of them licking at their fingers and chins. How long had it been since she’d last had sex?

“Eat, we kill it and then we explore underneath.” She was pretty sure she’d seen schools of fish, as long as they were edible it wouldn’t be an issue. Also, she needed to learn to swim.

“I am unable to swim,” Solas announced. It didn’t surprise her. 

“I don’t either,” Cole piped up too. She should have guessed.

“That makes three of us.” This would be wonderful. She’d been relying on one of them being able to teach her.

“You swam before,” Cole beamed at her. Solas looked dubiously at her over his head. Solas thought they were at that stage, well she didn’t.

“Let's kill the shark, we need to coat it in salt for the bits we can’t eat now, and then someone needs to be on the lookout to make sure there aren’t more.” Because she was pretty sure that there wasn’t more than one, but she wasn’t prepared to risk her life on it.

“Two go down, one stays on top.” She didn’t enjoy agreeing with Solas, but he wasn’t wrong. One on top to keep an eye out, one below to keep an eye too. There might be nothing at all under the sea, but even from the sand, she could see some things that looked useful. Metal scraps.

“Cole, are you willing to come beneath with me?” Solas looked petrified. She might currently hate him, but still she hadn’t gotten where she was by torturing weak people with their fears.

“I will if you do not,” Solas offered. 

“I don’t mind,” Cole gave them both a big smile. She hadn’t forgiven him at all, there was no reason to overreact.

The shark took one clean hit across the snout with a wooden spear. They’d left Solas dealing with it after it had taken all three to drag it onto the shore.

She didn’t care what the wolf said, there was definitely a magic of some type happening in the world. She could see perfectly well, it was ungainly, to begin with. Cole was less agile in the water than she was, and easily distracted chasing after little fish until splashing around on the surface collecting debris.

He’d returned in time to swipe at a new shark that appeared behind her. Solas wasn’t overly happy at having to butcher a second shark. She didn’t care. It was food, and water, thank the stone. Not a lot of water, but enough that they had some “cooking” constantly which was just using more of the wood they needed to expand. 

A chest. And then a second hidden in a cave underneath with dirt, that had been difficult to collect until they’d fashioned a shovel cup using some of the odd material. It wasn’t efficient, but they had actual dirt that didn’t just appear in the item made.

Seaweed, she’d eaten it before. Seaweed and fish, with grains. There was lots of the stuff that Solas had the cheek to question the need to collect so much.

“It’s food,” she hoped. They’d soon find out. More worrying was the clouds appearing on the horizon, and the third shark that had appeared. The hammer refused to work on the shore, but had worked on the raft itself. A hastily constructed basic shelter with two small beds, had used up the last of their resources. It was better than being wet, which considering she’d spent most of the day in the water felt daft.

“Cadash?” Solas had insisted that she slept in the middle. She wasn’t complaining, it was cold now that the clouds had formed and the sun had gone. They were fast reaching the point where they would have to leave the safe haven to find more resources.

“Solas?” He’d shuffled, so he wasn’t touching her too much, but still, they were pressed against each other.

“Thank you,” he said quietly.

“Don’t mention it.” Please. He must have heard her unspoken plea. Cole was fast asleep, he’d worn himself out on chasing fish, preferring it to the rod method. He’d caught no fish, which she suspected was his plan.

Morning broke early, or so it felt, she’d managed to get some sleep but not a significant amount. Solas was watching her with those big eyes of his, a hand brushing against her cheek brushing away a strand of leaf.

“Good morning,” No. No she was not falling for this again. Where Solas leads her on until he gets her trust and then the whole, oh no it’s because of size or race or whatever the shit he decided to blame it on. She could see the shame flash across his face. “I am sorry.”

“I believe you feel it, I just don’t think you understand why I think you should be.” He didn’t say anything. 

“Do you think we can survive?” Ah, he was asking if he should just drown himself. Fatalistic bastard.

“I think we can, there is a fair amount of crap in the water, the third shark gives me hope,” and fear because the last thing she wanted to happen was what happened to the human they’d found.

“We should kill the shark before leaving,” Solas wasn’t wrong. The two chests they found were currently storing salted meat, and other small bits that wouldn’t fit in the small shelter while they were back on the water.

“When I was talking about retiring, it wasn’t to live on a boat,” Cole giggled at her, he looked adorable rubbing the salt off his face.

“What were you planning?” Cole stared at Solas, so she didn’t have to. What a stupid fucking question.

“Right, so chop down the trees?” they’d been stripped bare of fruit, and they’d scoured for more fruit. “Lift the raft over the island. Kill the shark, and carry on.” A plan of action.

The trees didn’t give much in the way of wood, but she’d been able to kill two birds that had flown up the moment that Cole started chopping, which had given them feathers, they would need many more feathers she could feel it in her bones.

Lifting the raft had been… foolish. But they’d done it, using the staff, and the spear and lots of rope. Next time they would just pole it round like she’d seen them on canals.

It hadn’t helped that she wasn’t as tall as the other two, which meant it was next to impossible to lift. 

“We will get a paddle and a pole and do it that way in future,” Solas had stopped Cole from babbling over and over again about how it wasn’t her fault she was short. Cadash didn’t know whether to thank the baldy twat or not.

“We’ll need to build more deck space as a priority.” She’d been dubious when they’d built the shelter covering the entire tiny floor space, but it had kept them dry. Now all she could see were walls and the doors that gave no snagging of materials or shark killing help. The same shark - or species because the bits of the other sharks hadn’t disappeared when the new one appeared - that took about an hour to reappear when killed.

“There is more debris floating further out,” Solas sounded dubious. She didn’t blame him, he’d refused to paddle at all while around the island, which was something they would have to tackle at some point. For the moment, they needed to focus on killing the shark, that had a scent for them, again.

“Kill it here or further out?” She looked at Cole, he just looked at them both.

“If we kill it here, we have some time to float across to the debris and collect it, and keep the shark. If we kill it out there, it’s riskier to our health and if we keep the spoils of our hunt,” Solas offered. He wasn’t wrong, that was the dilemma. 

“We kill it here.” And then use all the materials they get to get more space. There was no way killing the shark would be an easy thing through the door. It was practically a death sentence. She had decided the moment she’d jumped into the water to rescue the body she wasn’t going to die a watery death, and she was damned if she was going to court it too.

Her own dagger sliced through the sharks belly like it was nothing more than one of Cullen’s shirts, the water changing to a soupy red mess. They’d have to tow the corpse until they’d created more space. But like with the strange crafting, they were on a time limit.

A third of the time took them out to the first of the debris, with barrels just out of range of her hook.

“Cover me, I’m going in.” Solas had the hammer out, having made one small deck area outside of the door. It was something, not enough but something.

Twang. An arrow went sailing past her face and she felt the swish of the shark turning tail. She knew she’d been pushing it, but they were in desperate need of resources and even with Solas now hooking things, they were still missing too many vital bits. 

“Cadash!” Shit, she really did need to get back to the raft, as she felt another arrow sail past her face. 

“Coming.” She’d abandoned her armour as soon as they’d got another chest to store it in. The chests were odd too come to think about it. They held lots of some things. The armour was useless in the water, only helping to weigh her down.

Cole grabbed her arm as she reached the side, with Solas smashing his staff down behind her. The shark had been stalking her. 

“No more swimming,” Cole whispered in her ear, showing his almost empty quiver. That was an issue. They would need to make more, but to do that they would need materials to do so.

“No more swimming unless the shark is dead.” But to kill the shark, they would have to get more up close and personal, which was dangerous. If a certain immortal pillock had his magic, they could just rely on that. Not for the first time she was grateful for not being so reliant on the stuff.

It did look beaten up. But they didn’t need to kill it yet, not until they’d properly butchered up the other one that was lying behind the shelter. 

“What’s that?” She didn’t know what Solas was pointing at, but Cole seemed to see it too. 

“Where?” She still couldn’t see where they were pointing and there was three barrels just out of range, even with the extra deck space. Three barrels that would be chock full of wood and potentially food.

“Over there, past the barrels,” Solas had his finger trained, and she could see it, or something. Something bobbing higher above the water, they needed to investigate.

“Paddle?” Solas looked at her. He was close to having enough to build a sail, she was aware of this, but hadn’t yet. A sail would be a better use of their resources, but they couldn’t afford to lose investigating what might be another stranded being. They could afford to take on another person or to use whatever they had to survive. They needed to make a choice soon, going back against the tide was near impossible.

He grudgingly made it, choosing to paddle himself, while she hooked the resources that she’d been prepared to swim for before. He’d been good, not even cursing as they gathered enough to make the sail, which saved the precious paddle for another occasion. The rate at which the items they created disintegrated was worrying, their own weapons were fine, but the wooden spear had broken after only one shark.

It was a raft, a tall raft with a scarecrow and a bed. More importantly a crate but no occupant, nor had they spotted any in the water. No doubt another casualty of the shark. Solas, showing more skill with the sail than he had with anything else so far had brought them to the side of the raft, so she could just hop over. It started to sink almost immediately, which was worrying. They would have to keep an eye on their own if this happened. She was able to grab the crate and the scarecrow, the bed was too stubborn and the shark had returned.

Still the crate had contained glass, blocks of metal and drawings. No food, but the metal was useful. Or it would be once they had managed to create something that she could turn it into arrowheads with. 

Solas had helped her back, with the shark - they really needed to find a name for it, snapping at her feet as she hopped back aboard.

“Land!” Cole called, pointing in the distance to where two tall peaks formed. It solved the sleeping issue.

It didn’t. The islands had resources, even more fruit and trees with a chest and some other bits of scrap. It did not have a place to pull the raft onto, too narrow and tall. They’d managed to wedge it between, so that they could sweep underneath in the morning, but one of them had to patrol throughout the night.

“If we get more metal we can add armour to the foundations,” Solas mumbled as Cole woke them both up for shift change.

“We have ore, but you said it didn’t work?” Cadash was tired, she’d taken the first watch, as the one who would be doing the most amount of swimming.

“I’ll try again,” Solas brushed a hand over her cheek before leaving, he was getting very touchy. She didn’t like how it made her feel.

“It’s fine,” Cole tucked her into his arms, keeping his voice low. She needed sleep, not to hash out the dramas of the immortal prick. “Sleep.”

They were woken to the sound of Solas cursing. Cadash was out of the shelter before Cole, her weapons in hand ready to attack the shark, only to find a table with candles at the side of the shelter, and a sheepish looking Solas.

“Everything alright?” He didn’t look like he’d been bitten, but then he was wearing black so she might not be able to tell.

“Look at the book,” he passed it over. “Inside,” she was tired, she would have opened it.

“What am I looking at?” It had the same pages - oh, there was more in there now. “How?” 

“The research table. You put an item on it, and then it disappears if it’s not been placed before. I put the metal bar, and the book has more items.” She didn’t get why he’d been cursing.

“We can grow more food now,” Cole hummed happily, flicking through the pages.

“We can make an advanced purifier,” Solas flicked the page back and pointed to it.

“We don’t have any glass, there was only one in the crate.” She didn’t want to rain on his parade but, no she did.

“We can make a smelter,” Solas was practically buzzing. She would have to check if there was any chance he could blow up this world now. Cole giggled at her, she wasn’t wrong.

Cadash liked having things to do, she did. Flicking back and forth through a book to make something as simple as a smelter was not her idea of fun. 

“How?” She was forced to ask.

“We make a wet brick, which when it turns dry, we put on the table, and then we find out what else is needed.” Solas looked excited. 

“Right, and a wet brick is?” She was prepared to go on just with Cole if Solas was going to delay providing useful information like this.

“Clay and sand,” he was practically rubbing his hands together. They did have a lot of sand, and they had some clay. “And clay is for bowls, we can have bowls to eat from.” 

The shark was killed, they were getting surprisingly efficient at killing it, which was useful, if only for annoying Solas who was left with butchering again.

The island had even more useful items, copper, she was fairly sure it was copper, in copious amounts. Useful for when they managed to get a smelter. Not so useful without.

There were wet bricks lying all over the deck, and Solas was busy cursing at a bird. The scarecrow had worked for about a night before the birds had returned to attacking the plants that were growing suspiciously quickly. It was something she wasn’t complaining about, nor the way a larger plant plot had two large watermelons growing already. Water was still an issue.

“If you can focus on seaweed, we can use it for things,” Solas had noticed that they’d hopped back on board. The shark had started to circle just as she’d found a large chest under the water.

“Are we eating rations? Or did you manage to cook the meat?” She really didn’t want to eat the rations, in part because they had plenty of fresh food, and the rations she only had to cause a rat issue in Orlais. 

“They were right,” Cole grinned at her.

“They were, and we can say that now, because they will never know.” Which was a thought she didn’t want to prod too firmly.

“Little fish are cooling on the table, the shark meat is proving difficult to cook on the grill.” Because he’d cut it too big, if he’d sliced it finely like she’d suggested then it would have been fine.

Still, the fish was nice, the skin crispy under her fingers, he’d drizzled it in something sweet, “melon?” “pineapple” came the reply. It was good. 

Cole finished first, his appetite still below hers even after the years he’d been more than a spirit, and was busy scaling up to the top and throwing fruit and wood down into the water for her to collect. Which proved harder when Solas wasn’t as keen on shark watching as Cole proved to be.

“Focus!” She’d had to stab at it, while Solas was busy picking up dry bricks. She was in the water, he was supposed to be on shark watch. 

At this rate they’d have another dead shark, her weapons were to kill, he at least had a staff that would do nothing more than deter it. She almost enjoyed the challenge, watching it swim away just to return like one of the mabari at feeding time, as regular as one of Cullen’s rounds.

She’d scrambled back on as the shark snapped at her feet, missing by a hairs breadth as the immortal prick was busy carrying something large.

“I did it!” He didn’t even know why she was prepared to kill him this time. 

“You were supposed to be watching the shark.” He didn’t even have the grace to look ashamed.

“Malika, we can create so many things now!” he’d placed it behind the shelter, facing the back, which she wasn’t entirely sure was wise. Though nothing so far had caught fire outside of the small grill and the water purifier, so perhaps it was more of the strangeness of the place.

Cole dropped back down with a thump of the roof of the shelter, how it hadn’t caved in, was a question for another time. For now, she was going to accept the things she couldn’t change, and the will power not to push Solas into shark’s open maw for the things she could.

“We need him,” Cole said far quieter than she would have done. The immortal prick wasn’t paying the slightest bit of attention anyway.

“Are we staying a night or moving on?” She wasn’t sure the benefit of staying any longer, especially as Solas had shown no interest in getting in the water again.

“Have we collected everything we can?” Solas didn’t even have the grace to look at them. It was like the rotunda all over again, she’d wander through, he’d ask a question not even looking at her.

“A couple of stones, but do we need more stones?” They had a chest full of the things that didn’t weigh anything at all. She’d been wary at first, but they did nothing more than settle as everything else had in the chest.

“We can leave then.” Was he even speaking to them now?

“It’s his way of coping,” Cole gave her a quick hug before dropping the sail. They needed to use the precious paddle which was resting on a shelf, with Solas choosing not to help paddle. He was tending to the smelter, placing sand in with what seemed to Cadash, the fashion that new apprentices did when allowed near the big smelters. She only hoped he remembered that they were on a wooden boat.

She had to admit the water purifier solved many issues. They had two on the go, the water tasting better than any she’d had since Skyhold. It wasn’t alcohol, but short of finding a still they were shit out of luck there.

Two days of floating, collecting as much wood and the strange material as they could, they saw another raft. Again, no one aboard or near, but it gave hope that there were others out there. She’d been able to pull it on board their large deck area at the back, breaking it down to be used to build out their living area. Still, they were still sleeping huddled together, even with a rug, it was chilled at night, the mixture of spray and wind not helping.

“I’ve made this,” Solas was frowning at a flat square object. 

“Do we need it?” There were items that seemed pointless. A trophy plaque, why would they need that? The chairs had been handy, to be able to sit on something dry rather than on the permanently damp deck. 

It had also helped relations, for the time being, she was prepared to accept that perhaps she could overlook the desire to kill Solas, as he had finally started to pull his weight. Cole hadn’t gotten any more proficient at swimming, but he kept trying. She was getting pretty good. Her breath capacity had increased dramatically, and she could feel her shoulders adapting to the motions.

“Malika?” She looked up from fishing off the roof of the shelter. It was an awkward place to fish, but it did give her some privacy. To cry. The two men would ignore her no doubt red eyes and blame it on the wind.

“Yes?” She loved catching the large fish, the salmon they’d taken to eating thinly sliced and smoked over leaves, as variety over the hot flesh of the rest. They even had odd recipes, calling for things they couldn’t yet do. 

“It looks like it’s needed for this,” Solas was waving a tripod at her. She wasn’t sure what it was supposed to be.

“Great job,” the rod tugged again, heavier than before, she was hoping for another salmon.

“It’s refusing to be placed on this level, it needs to be higher, but at a distance from the other two,” he carried on. She wasn’t sure what he was talking about, but it wouldn’t be the first time. 

“So we need to expand upwards?” It’d been something they knew was coming; still she was hoping to delay a while longer. The length of time since seeing the last bit of land had her twitchy. They had plenty of scrap metal, but for some odd reason it wouldn’t smelt down. They’d managed to reinforce the decking around the sleeping area and the smelter, but nothing else. Even using the catching nets around the edge of the raft, they were still having to do a lot of catching manually.

“It would appear so.” He paused, “We are out of metal, and copper.”

“How?” she’d managed to get a good eight pieces of copper, it should have lasted them a while.

“There was… an accident.” 

“We lost a chest,” Cole popped his head out of the shelter, the shark was currently ignoring them for a shark bait they had trailing the back of the raft after it had taken a chunk out while she’d been sleeping.

“Oh.” She wasn’t sure what else she should say. 

“I will help get the items back,” Solas offered.

“It is what it is,” she would be gracious. Because it was no one's fault that the shark was a constant menace. They all needed to sleep, and the next island with any space on it they would attempt to pull up on shore so as not to worry. At least with the reinforced areas, it was unable to do anything to them. 

It didn’t mean he could wriggle out of learning to swim, he’d been lucky not to have fallen over yet, though she’d noticed he kept away from the edges at all costs.

When they found the next island.

Two rafts, one that had copper in, though apart from turning it into a bar they still didn’t have much use for it. Solas had assured her they needed lots of the stuff, but bar the first tripod he’d made, he just seemed to be crafting items. 

Two more days past with no land in sight. She was doing her best not to worry, the tide and wind was taking her in one constant direction. Cadash was relying on the fact that there was an ever-constant flow of debris on the waves, that they would continue to survive. The two purifiers that relied on nothing more than the sun had made farming the very fast growing plots sustainable, as had killing any birds that tried to steal from them.

She’d lived on less, for far longer. Land would be a welcome sight regardless.

One raft, and then - they’d almost missed the outcrop of rock in the heavy winds and rain. A real anchor that meant they’d been able to stop just before beaching themselves and it was better than nothing. Which left her wondering how many they had missed out on the horizon. 

No trees, not fruit but plenty of clay, sand, metal and shells. So many shells that were promptly turned into nests and placed at the edge of the deck. Fresh bird, constant supply of feathers, all they needed now was actual land. Stones preserve them, please grant actual land.

Instead, days of rafts and small craggy rocks. 

“Lika!” Solas pulled on her foot, she’d been balancing on the large upright posts trying to get the platforms right. It was that or go crazy. He was lucky she had hold of the building hammer; otherwise he’d have had it on his head. Immortal prick. Even that was getting a bit half-hearted in her head as a curse.

“What?” She was pleased to hear some bite to her tone. Because she’d been getting pretty comfortable at nights curled up next to him, stealing his heat.

“We’ve managed to get the device to work, it’s showing a signal,” he was smiling. He smiled at her a lot now, like he had in the days before he’d decided that she wasn’t good enough to flirt with.

“Where to?” If it was behind them they were stuffed, there was no way, not even with all of them paddling they could go against the tide. He pointed off to her right at an angle, not quite dead ahead but with liberal use of the sail, they should be able to follow it without too much issue.

“It’s as good a plan as any. We see any land we’ll detour, and the same for other rafts, all in agreement?” She was prepared to override any objections, but she’d prefer not to.

“None,” Solas uttered, with Cole shaking his head before darting back to smack at the shark once more.

They’d seen nothing else following the signal, not a raft, not land, only debris. They’d veered off course twice, before pulling it back in line, she only hoped that it was worth it. They’d gotten to the stage of dropping anchor in the middle of open water, so as not to lose track of the signal. Each night they did, she felt even warier, a strong wave had knocked Cole into the water, scrambling back on as the shark had circled him. After that, they’d roped off the edge a section before so that there was some protection.

“Lika,” Solas had her tucked on his chest, the nights on the open water were colder than those near land. That was her excuse for snuggling against him, and nothing else. It helped that Cole also snuggled up to Solas, and her. It was bitterly cold, even up a level.

“My turn?” she’d hidden her nose against his chest, her nose was frozen, and he didn’t complain.

“Mine,” he whispered into her hair. She vaguely remembered, she’d crawled in with him, shifting Cole out to take over her shift. The hammock was far more comfortable than the mat of the floor, but it meant she had to clamber out so that Cole could slip into the others space.

“Be careful,” for a moment she’d forgotten where they were, who they were as she offered her cheek. This was not Skyhold and he was not Cole. Cole, who had already settled in and was tugging her back into the grip of sleep. She was tired, swimming took it out of her more than marching ever had.

“The fear,” Cole murmured. 

“Of the dark water,” she agreed. 

Morning came, night fell, morning came and night fell three times more. They had through no fault of anyone's, missed land twice. The heavy storms that had raged masking all presence of land. They had at best two of the things that made the odd machine work left. No more copper. Without land or another raft, they would be lost. 

“It’s moved,” Solas had taken to turning it off for all but a moment to check they were on course.

“Have we missed it?” They’d invested too much time into this venture, it reminded her of when they’d hunted down Samson. She still wasn’t convinced it had been worth the resources.

“No, it’s closer,” he was hushed, she wondered if he almost didn’t want to curse it.

“How close?” So far the spot had only appeared on the outskirts of the image. He shook his head, it was a daft question and she’d known that as soon as it left her mouth. 

“Keep me informed,” in the old days she might have tacked on a please. Before she was Inquisitor, and before he’d rejected her outright after leading her on. He’d claimed not to have done, but if Cullen had offered his sympathies, well…

The watermelon’s were both her favourite and least favourite food. They had seeds in four different chests after one had been lost to the shark early on. She found them stuck to her skin when she cleaned, and she’d found them in the hammock. But it was refreshing, in a way that the water had ceased to be. They’d even carved some and placed the odd candles they’d fished up somehow. Melon lights had lasted a day before collapsing, the hot sun into freezing nights with salt and wind doing nothing to preserve them. 

“Mango?” Cole threw her one. She didn’t mind them, the flesh was firmer to bite into, but it would use more water to clean after. The tree plots were doing a fine job, after they’d debated using up the last of the metal bars to make the hinges. She’d tried with the scrap and her own tools, but they wouldn’t work, and no matter how hard she looked, she couldn’t see how one hinge made the whole thing worked. Four tree plots, meant that they had a constant supply of wood and fruit.

“Hey Cole,” he peered down at her from the top of the tree.

“Nothing yet,” he replied, it wasn’t - or perhaps the question was what she wanted to know. If he could see anything. Creating a crows nest had been next on the list of things to build.

“You know how we’re doing, how about you?” She knew he could tell, because she’d find herself hugged at random points.

“You haven’t failed yet,” said with a smile. It wasn’t true, she’d failed many a time. They were here because she’d failed and failed hard.

“Do you need anything?” Ignoring the dragon on the roof.

“A new hat,” she winced. He’d lost his hat in a storm, the leaf ones they’d made lasted one good gust before blowing off.

“I promise, first proper hat we find is all yours,” he’d earned it many times over.

Anchor dropped for another night, with the sky clear for the first time in days. They were laying flat on the top deck, staring up at the stars, the shark hadn’t been seen in hours. It had been Solas who had lain down first, pulling Cole down to join him. They’d both called her up after her evening clean, tucking her tightly between the two of them.

“So where do you think we are?” it was something she’d wanted to ask for days.

“There are many worlds connected to the Crossroads, most of the connections were lost,” Solas murmured.

“Nothing speaks,” Cole added, wriggling closer as she shivered. The two men didn’t seem to feel the cold as much as she did. “You spend time in the water, it chills your bones.” 

“We need to find warmer clothes, or fill all the gaps,” Solas said, it was something they’d discussed, replacing the green walls with wooden ones. Even with the trees and debris, they were running about even for the resource, building up and out had eaten all of their spare supply, until they found land at the very least.

“Huddle for warmth,” even now she could feel her eyes closing, as it did every time they huddled together. It’d held her well during long marches and treks, the ability to adjust. Now it was just dangerous.

“Or we can huddle for warmth,” he sounded almost amused, his hand gently brushing the hair from her eyes. The pair of them, had become far more affectionate - even for Cole, since not finding land for days. She could understand it. The feeling of dread as nothing but water on the horizon, it made her feel small. 

“Insignificant,” Cole whispered, pressing against her tightly.

“I’m sorry,” 

“It wasn’t you,” Solas spoke up. He was a literal god, how did she have a chance if a literal god felt insignificant in this situation? 

“I feel it too,” Cole said into her hair.

“A God, a former spirit and the Inquisitor feeling insignificant, Morrigan would be falling off the battlements in laughter.” She let out a sigh. Morrigan had been very dismissive ever since the well, even having been allowed to drink from it. Cadash had been damned either way, or so Cole had assured her at the time, she rather thought he was right.

“It’s a very big world,” Solas hummed softly. She had thoughts that she didn’t want to share, because they were big scary thoughts that would do nothing but alarm. She clamped down hard every time they’d started to rise.

“Soon we’ll find whatever it is that is calling to us,” she was blaming the pair of them for the fancifulness. The blue of the sea and sky. The chill of the night and the lack of alcohol.

“Or land…” Cole sounded wistful. If they had more hinges, she’d let them build more tree plots, so they could pretend to be in a forest. She felt it too, she was a dwarf, and never before had she felt the need to return to the stone as now.

“We’ll survive,” Solas said, she could hear the effort in his voice to sound sure.

“We will,” she was the Inquisitor, she’d defeated many enemies and had even defeated a god, sort of. She was not going to let the water defeat them. Not now, not when they’d managed to secure the bottom of their vessel and become almost completely self-sufficient

“I believe,” Cole hugged her tightly.

They’d chosen to risk it for a night, crowding into the hammock, Cadash squished between the two bodies, after she’d started shivering to the point not even the heat off the grill could warm her. She wasn’t complaining, she wasn’t complaining at all.

“We need to get you warmer clothes,” Solas said as if she could magic them out of thin air. It was unfair of her. He’d even offered his robe to sleep in, she declined after Cole had pressed her against the warmth of their bodies.

She’d woken with warm feet, and a warm nose. She’d woken after an uninterrupted nights sleep and yet, yet she was tired. Tired down to her teeth. Cole had allowed her to crawl out of the hammock, before collapsing onto Solas who seemed to prefer being at the bottom of the pile. 

No shark still, and no evidence of missing decking or even it being nibbled on. Perhaps they had killed it off? Or wandered too far from its hunting grounds, either way, she was going to take advantage. A quick dip in the water, left her refreshed and more importantly, far enough that she could release the thoughts without worrying Cole.

“I was prepared to die.” There, she’d said it. To nothing more than a small school of fish that had come to investigate her toes as she swam out to a group of barrels. 

She had gone to find Solas, knowing full well it was her time to die. Her arm had grown worse to the point she’d stopped removing her glove completely when in company. She’d been tired, she’d done her part, saving the known world from rifts, from ancient dark spawn godlings and dragons. She’d been betrayed, abandoned, rejected. She’d been the witness for her friends wedding, she’d waved goodbye to allies, friends. She’d pardoned dangerous criminals in the name of diplomacy and executed a former lover because he’d chosen his religion over their friendship. She had been more than ready to die.

It was why she was out in the deep blue sea, knowing that the two men were still in the hammock. She was too far out without a weapon should the shark return, and yet it didn’t. It didn’t when she was courting it, it had at all other points but now, nothing.

“Malika!” Solas was waving at her, and she gave up to swim back, dragging the not as vital resources with her. He helped her out of the water, rubbing her down with his sleep vest. 

“Morning,” even to her ears, it sounded weak. 

“Cole is cooking, will you release the anchor?” He pretended he didn’t know what she’d been doing, and she pretended that she’d be allowed to be alone for a while.

The sun was high in the sky, their bellies full, faces clean and no shark. A collective decision to ignore hooking resources and just relying on the catchers had left Cadash with nothing more to do than lie in the sun and nap, waking only when she felt the anchor shudder and the raft come to a stop. 

The sun was on its way down, they’d let her waste most of the day. She was not going to consider the reasons as to why. A hand reached down, Cole’s, always softer than Solas’ who for a mage had more calluses. Came from Cole being newly formed, she thought, in comparison to the elderly god.

A large structure - it looked like the scaffolding that the builders used appeared on the distance. And a large rock - metal. Large boxes - buildings? They could get there before it grew dark but…

“Can you sense anyone?” The last thing they needed was to stumble into hostile forces. Especially as it had no land, even from here, she could see no trees and she didn’t have the same eyesight as the two men. If there were occupants, they would be surviving on the basics which could make a messy situation. 

“No,” Cole looked as cautious as she felt.

“Head on first thing in the morning, we keep watch overnight.” This time not for shark watch, but for pirate watch. 

Nothing had occurred during the night, she’d managed to kill a couple more birds, making more arrows for Cole, and sharpening her own weapons. Solas had prepared supplies, with Cole repairing the slight damage they’d missed from before.

It was pointless, keeping quiet as they raised the anchor and drifted closer to the mess of metal. Just as the three of them had seen the structure, anyone in it would have easily seen them. Still no shark. They pulled up next to the rock outcrop, preferring to risk having to fight in the water than have people drop in on them from above.

“Still nothing,” Cole announced. She wished she could trust that it meant there was nothing there, but the world was different from their own, they couldn’t trust it. 

Solas had volunteered to stay with the raft. Cadash hadn’t pressed the issue, it made sense to have one remain, so as not to lose it should they be hiding ready to steal their vessel. It was a valid concern, part of her wanted to send Cole solo to scout, but if he got into trouble she’d never forgive herself, and he was far better at hiding than she was.

They made their way across, splashing as little as possible, which involved mainly her pulling Cole, who hadn’t refined his swimming beyond splashing and hoping for the best.

There was submerged doorways she wanted to investigate, but only after they’d searched the rest. She lifted Cole up first, before dropping down to surge up, she was getting better at getting out of the water. In fact, in another place, she’d be busy crowing about it to Cullen who’d mocked her after showing off his old home. 

“Nothing,” Cole whispered into her ear, creeping forward to investigate the first lot of doorways. There was writing on the walls, writing that could be a trap to make them believe that they were alone here. But there was the look of desperation to it too, that she felt, that made her suspicious the place was abandoned. 

“Bruce,” she whispered, they’d called the shark Bruce. It meant they would have to be careful around the structure if even here they’d met the shark. Bruce would be a problem for after they’d explored everything.

“Nothing,” Cole appeared on the level above, reaching down to pull her up. 

“Up we go then,” Cadash was mixed. There was so much metal, so many things they could use, and yet the place felt abandoned.

TOOK BOAT  
WON’T BE   
BACK

It still might be a trap, it didn’t feel like it though. She gave Cole a leg up to the top of an enclosed box, letting him pull her up again. She wasn’t looking forward to the next part, the ladder looked unstable and rotten; still, she followed as Cole leapt across and made his way further up. It was clear other people had been here, the odd scrawlings on the walls, the symbol, the same one in the book. It was eerie, no denying it.

“Nothing,” Cole had managed to reach the top, and was busy scrambling on to the roof of the box with the three large dish things that were moving? Things moved, metal things, small metal things. She’d broken one which had slowly rotated seemingly following their every move. She didn’t like the place one bit, and could see why even if it was free of sharks currently they would leave.

Notes, more notes. She didn’t understand the meaning behind the words, but the intent was clear. Something had gone terribly wrong, someone had tried to fix it, and it had gone wrong regardless. It felt like a bad dream, she’d just left one shit show, and now they were in another. Solas, on the other hand, would feel right at home.

“He is sorry,” Cole peered down at her.

“Only because he can’t swim.” Cole chose not to contradict her, which was good because she really wasn’t in the mood to do anything more than sit on the chair and weep. Weep and weep and weep.

He let her, dithering between touching her and not. She was glad he had the sense to leave her alone. Even if he was still there. Still there to help her carry the large board back down with the notes on. Solas looked confused until she lifted the red things up and then let them slap back against it. If nothing else it would be used as a good divider that could be wheeled about. She felt flat by the whole ordeal.

It took three days to strip the construct clean of usable objects, they’d tried removing the metal itself, but without the right kit she could do nothing more than hit her hammer against it fruitlessly - it had helped with her pent up emotions.

Solas deigned to try to swim, but the first time his head sank below the surface, it was like he was a cat. They would try again, they would have to because at some point they would struggle to get to land with their vessel. 

He hadn’t commented as she’d spent a night crying into his chest, deep wrenching sobs. She hadn’t commented at how he’d sung to her in Dalish, rocking her until she could sleep. They both hadn’t commented how Cole had clung to them both. 

A whole lot of not commenting went on. She barely spoke until they’d left the strange boxes in the sea. The first thing she said had been, “Sharks back,” as they drifted out across the great blue expanse. 

“It is a good thing,” Cole beamed at her. It wasn’t, they’d stopped keeping watch at night, having had at least three weeks without seeing it. Now it was back, attacking the vessel every chance it got. They’d missed two rafts thanks to it being so insistent in chasing her when she’d dared to enter the water. 

She’d narrowly avoided being bitten as it appeared directly beneath her and if not for Solas, might well have lost a foot to it. “We need to kill it,” he’d muttered at her, touching her foot to check it was still intact, which it clearly was.

“We need land,” she stated. They desperately needed to see land, she needed to walk on earth, she needed to lie on grass. She needed to see animals other than fish and birds. If anything was a certainty at this point, it was this one fact, she needed to touch stone. 

They were aimed at a green blob on the machine, they’d missed one that had blipped in and then off almost immediately. She was fairly sure they’d missed another island in a storm again. If not for their trees she’d be convinced the world was blue. 

Cole had started to paint things, using the few flowers he was cultivating. She had to admire his artistic license, he really enjoyed painting and spent his free time painting and repainting the same spots.

The routine was back, with bed swapping in the middle of the night, though they cheated two nights in a row. A shark bait kept it busy long enough they could sleep through without worrying. They’d needed it, unable to reach the first definite island they’d spotted thanks to heavy winds and high seas. The first time she’d seen Cole look desolate. 

“Cards?” Solas had painstakingly painted cards so they could play using the papers they’d collected that had nothing of any worth to them, beyond kindling.

“Deal me in. What are we playing for?” They’d managed to bastardise three different games to keep it interesting. So far it’d cause six arguments and three meltdowns. 

“Cooking duty?” Solas hated cooking duty, he didn’t enjoy the oddness of the cooking station. She thought it was quite charming, how everything just jumped into the pot and it rattled for a bit before she was allowed to scoop it out using the bowls. It was too close to his lost magic, she was pretty sure.

“Hot water,” he grimaced. It was something she wanted, though, and it would take forever, but she wanted to wash in hot water just once. 

“LAND!” Cole screamed, the anchor shuddering down. There was no reason to believe that land was so close, there was no breeze in the air, no storm to have hidden it. And yet, when she scrambled out of the enclosed hut, there was land, a huge mass of it, with things moving, and a large shallow beach. 

Solas stared. He’d followed her in - and then a noise, as they instinctively ducked back in under cover. A screech and then the sound of something hitting the roof.

The shark attacked underneath them, with Cole shouting angrily at it, as there was the sound of a screech again with the thud of something else hitting the roof. Land, land with hostile creatures. Still land. Land land land land land.

“Land,” Solas whispered.

“We need to kill it,” she’d poked her head out and caught sight of an enormous bird circling above them, carrying a rock. 

It took a combination of Cole shooting while Solas dodged drawing the birds ire, as Cadash hid in the trees to shoot it as it got in range. Tough bastard took them the afternoon to kill, in between the shark attacks and Solas had been hit twice by splintering rock. Still, they killed it. So many feathers and meat, so much meat. She even tossed a bit to the shark while neither male was watching. A last meal before she sliced it’s belly, capturing the entrails for the next shark bait so they could sleep peacefully.

Boars, two of them, breeding pair? She was almost convinced of it, until Solas had pointed out neither was male. More evidence of people, the odd crates.

“You would wish to sleep in the cave?” Solas looked at her as if she was a strange thing.

“Yes,” it was stone, and it felt the closest thing so far to real. It was real, it was stone, and if she had a pickaxe, she would be able to tunnel it. 

“It’s important,” Cole whispered, staring at the walls.

“It truly is.” 

They spent days on the island, she was almost convinced they could live on it, barring the way someone clearly had and then had left. Leaving no note as to why. The odd little patches garden that had clearly been dug over.

Then there was the most important thing - beyond the odd puffer fish in the sea, the goat. They were the proud owner of a goat. They had access to milk, which was something she would have paid to see Solas do before all of this. Because watching him and Cole chase it down all over the island had been the best thing she’d ever seen. Bar anything. 

At first Solas decried the need to use of the odd net thing the book informed them to use. Then he spent a while crafting his own, using stones and a lot of rope before setting up an intricate trap which involved more rope and a trigger system. The goat ignored the no longer fresh grass for that nearby. Which had caused problems in itself. They could harvest all of the grass, they had space now, she knew goats ate anything but this one had grown used to the finest freshest grass.

Two days of painstakingly digging up dirt and grass and transplanting it to the boat, and then making sure it didn’t die. Which involved plenty of watering, and rearranging. Then working out how much it would need, and roping off the space so it then wouldn’t eat their vegetables. 

The idea of fresh milk, though had been enough to make it all worthwhile. Especially with the recipes using it. Just tasting it after it had been cooled in the water had her spirits raised.

So after the worst trap plan had failed, Cole and Solas chased it round and round the island launching at it until eventually they’d found where it slept. At that point, it became a touch easier to catch. Cadash made sure to stifle her laughter at the red cheeks and sweat pouring off them. In her defence she’d worked as hard, she’d painstakingly stripped all the metal from under the water. Her breath capacity had grown a lot, and coupled with the fins she’d made and the water bottle, she could almost last as long as it took for the shark to reappear before needing to resurface. An exaggeration but it was definitely longer than Solas’ panicked half a breath.

A small part of her wondered if he was putting it on. As a way of getting out of putting himself in harm's way, but he’d played decoy without too much issue with the aggressive bird. He’d hunted the boar too. She could understand though, she was unsure herself until she’d spotted the body in the water. Without that impetus, she wasn’t sure she would have gotten in either. Especially with the shark, and other creatures that seemed happy to kill them.

Cole was… very enthusiastic still in the water, splashing like a puppy but he tried. He still wasn’t paying enough attention to improve his style, this she was sure was to frighten the fish away. He’d said as much several times. It got worse when they had shark meat, because he claimed not to see a need to kill them when they had food. Not even Solas could convince him of the need to stockpile.

They spent a final night on the island, the goat tied up to remaining tree that Cole would chop down come morning. All the better to eat the grass without wasting their supply. Cadash was a little concerned about how long the supply would last them, but it should be enough. If not, well then they would have fresh milk for a while and then goat meat curry.

“We could stay?” Cole asked dubiously. 

“There are more blobs on the machine,” she pointed out. She was hoping that one might have people on it. Or more materials, for while they drifted through things on the open water, the current didn’t seem to wash them up on the shoreline, they’d soon run out. Which probably answered the question as to why there was no one here when there clearly had been.

“No, we should move on,” Solas shuffled closer to them, tugging the blanket they’d made out of bits of scrap material they’d found flapping as a banner.

She was sad to see the back of the island, not helped by the great expanse stretching further than the eye could track. They were sailing in the direction of the blob that appeared as the number was put into the machine.

Three weeks, two small islands with only limited items later, and they reached the destination. It was huge and metal. It was also occupied with rats. Solas opted to join her in exploring this time, relying on Cole’s ability to sense and the way there was no sign of anyone at all. The shark hadn’t been seen within a week of the ship. Not since the last small island where they’d killed it four times. To the point where even she felt guilty as it appeared and they gutted it almost immediately.

Mattresses, blankets, lockers. So many resources it took days to painstakingly work through, the rats reappearing each time they left. The meat was… it tasted as good as the boar meat which had been less than surprising. It looked and smelled the same, she’d have been surprised if it hadn’t.

“This isn’t our world,” Cole murmured touching the bar. Solas looked at her, as if daring her to pass comment. She wouldn’t, she felt it too, the despair at how different it all seemed. Not just the water, but the materials, the machines. She didn’t despair the very comfortable bed they’d manhandled on board, nor the numerous blankets that she could snuggle up in. Solas looked somewhat disgruntled by how she’d made a nest of them.

The goat was let out to eat the fresh grass by the side of the huge boat, Cole decided while they both slept to do so, if not for the fact that it was only a small strip of land, she would be worried for his safety. As it was, it took very little encouragement to catch the thing to return it back to the boat.

“This is… troubling,” Solas said, touching the notes that had appeared in the book.

“Yes,” Cadash felt the same. The rats had posed little difficulty to them, and yet had been part of the downfall for the people aboard the vessel.

“Humans,” Solas said with the air of someone who had seen such things before. 

“You say this only because of the corpse we found,” Cadash didn’t want to get back into another debate with the man about the races. They’d finally agreed to keep quiet, it was clear they were never returning back to their own world. The old slights meant very little, yet here he was again trying to justify his actions.

“Not just that, you have seen the images, did you see any evidence of anything but human?” She could tell that he wanted to just explain it all as a human issue. Because it was the simpler solution than people were complex and had many different flaws and needs.

“Would you care to tell me again what you did with the Titans?” With her own people who had shielded his according to the ancient histories. He stilled, looking haunted. “Cole?” He was busy tinkering after finding the diagrams for the new items. The headlamp had been useful in the gloom, if not resource expensive. 

“We can go back,” Cole’s voice was hushed as he placed two large machines on either side of the raft. There was now a steering wheel in place next to the odd machine.

“Go back?” They didn’t even know where they’d started, they’d drifted for weeks without any direction following the currents.

“We can explore and no longer miss anything, we can find a home,” Cole whispered stroking the wheel.

“Home?” Solas looked frightened by the prospect, perhaps Cole had been right in the beginning, that Solas wasn’t as committed to the plan as she feared.

“We have more numbers to follow,” she opened the page to where the next set would lead them should they decide to follow.

Cadash was many things, an excellent swimmer now added to that, foolish she was not. Solas looked haunted from the moment Cole mentioned a way they might possibly go back. 

“You still don’t have your magic - there was nothing on this side, you realise that?” Solas didn’t look any happier as she pulled him to one side while he was fishing.

“I understand.” If she didn’t know better, she’d have thought the water on his face was not from the spray.

Bear Island, the first time there was enough space to live, and live properly. Other than the bears, the biggest threat barring the gas pit which had even Cole hovering nervously. 

“We could?” She was pretty sure she hadn’t asked the question, but the howling wind from the top of the tower as they stared out across the huge mass of land could have torn it from her lips.

“No,” Solas collapsed into himself. No, no, they couldn’t. It was too dangerous, the bears were like the shark, barring the big one. A big knife made life easier, and the new coordinates. 

Cole got lost twice, trying to find the noise that was ringing softly. It felt like the Crossroads had, the strange quiet nature of it. They could live here and grow slowly insane. Better to risk moving on. The waters around the huge mass had nothing in them either, which was almost worse - but the tool kit they found, that had hidden a picture, that they took. 

They slept on board of the raft, the bears chasing them down to the shoreline but not into the water. Unlike the bears of home who would chase through rivers and the sea to catch their prey. 

“They don’t want to get lost,” Cole murmured, hugging her tightly.

She knew the feeling. 

“Where to next?” As try as they might, the numbers wouldn’t show up on the machine. Only the places they had been to before. The bear island had been, for the most part, disturbing. 

“We have honey,” Cole gently touched the honeycomb he’d collected. “And bees, Sera would like it.”

Sera. Sera would be cursing her name. She’d warned her not to go messing about with the mirrors. “She loved you,” Cole mumbled into her hair.

“She did. She hated me too,” Cadash had broken her heart without realising she had. 

“You didn’t mean it.”

“I don’t think it made her feel any better knowing that,” she scrubbed a hand across her face. 

“Can we leave?” Solas asked quietly. Cole opened his mouth before shutting it as she shook her head. Cadash was well aware that Solas had regretted since his actions towards her, he was now at the point she had been for weeks. He wouldn’t need the extra guilt piled onto him. They still needed him, and unlike her, he still couldn’t swim and the expanse of open water was vast and deep.

They chose to head towards a dot, stopping to check out rafts as they passed. Still not a single survivor. Solas had withdrawn to fishing and sleeping, barely eating. She was just waiting for Cole to hit the slump and they would be doomed. 

“You wouldn’t let us,” Cole said, the trust shining in his eyes.

“I suppose I wouldn’t.” She would do what she always did, step up to do what had to be done. He hugged her tightly.

Without a plan beyond finding land that didn’t feel like spiders were crawling over her corpse, they gently floated on the current with no shark in sight.

An odd metal shape on top of a small island with a hat that Cole immediately wore. It caused her to giggle, if only for how daft he looked. Solas chose to explore as much as he could, sitting in the seat and pressing the glass bits. 

The mood lightened significantly, the bed-sharing went from desperate clinging for comfort back to the sharing warmth and comfort. Cole took to the middle of the bed, she’d not been wrong to worry about him it seemed. She was also very happy to offer him all the support he needed, as he had at every stage of their journey together. 

“Varric would be writing furiously,” she remarked, watching as Solas was busy trying to remove bee’s from Cole’s hair, even as he insisted they liked being in it. Solas tackled that issue, losing the card game to decide who was breaking the news to Cole he was not allowed to bring them into the bed again.

“Cassandra would protect your honour,” Solas remarked softly, wincing as he came across a knot with three bee’s caught up in it.

“She’d be the first to read it more like,” she muttered.

“While defending your honour,” Solas reiterated frowning as he lifted the hat off Cole’s head to discover a nest in there.

“Cole, please, we have hives, we have three of them. Bees belong in hives,” she held no hope he’d listen. 

“They like the hat,” Cole beamed at her.

“We can’t sleep with bees in the bed,” no, that wasn’t right. “I am not sleeping with bees in the bed, they need to stay in the hive or with the plants. Bees don’t live in your hair.”

Cole tried the puppy eyes on her, the ones he knew she fell for more often than not. “No, Cole,” Solas said firmly.

Having access to honey helped with the food, as had planting the berry bushes which helped for variety, and to feed the birds.

“Eggs,” Cole was stroking the table.

“The birds don’t seem to lay them; otherwise we would have access to them,” Cadash wondered the same thing. Eggs seemed to be a sticking point for them, for the healing salves that from the picture looked sharp.

The noisy engines made the trip easier as they started to cross the currents, the oddness of the world moving the debris in the water to continue to drift with them.

“Shark,” Solas called down from the top deck, where he’d been watering the grass for the goat. Cole tried to encourage them to bring it into the sleeping area at night. He’d slept outside for a night before returning to the bed.

She used her dagger to kill the shark, distracting it with Cole while she ducked underneath to gut it, the quickest way she’d found to dispatch the free meal. Somewhat reassuring to see it return, even if it meant they had to be on their guard again.

“It was sad,” Cole stroked it’s nose as she butchered it with quick efficiency.

“It was sad, or you were sad?” A question she’d started to ask as many things were sad or happy, often depending on Cole’s mood.

“Solas is sad, you are sad, the goat is sad,” Cole shrugged, helping to move the meat to the middle deck where it was placed directly into the pot to cook.

“I’m not sad,” she gave him a smile. 

“Your bones are sad.” She couldn’t argue with that. 

She could argue with Solas after they’d killed another huge bird. “I think we need to catch the big goat,” and she could see why he thought that. The chicken was extremely fast, scrawny looking, but it was a chicken.

“We need the chicken,” she asserted. Cole was busy fishing from the goats grassy area talking to it animatedly. “It laid an egg, we need the chicken.”

“We can get wool from the big goat,” Solas looked mulish. 

“We have enough to make the catcher thing,” she knew what his issue was with her idea. He thought they would have an easier time catching the bigger animal, while she could only see the struggle they would have to do so without having to kill it, or risk being injured.

“You need armour,” since he’d discovered the armour from the table, that was all he could go on about.

“I have armour,” it was in the chest not being used as it offered no protection against sharks.

“The boar almost gored you.”

“It didn’t, I know how to dodge.” 

“You need to wear armour,” Solas was being stubborn.

“You do,” Cole piped up. 

She gave up, she had exactly enough fight for one argument, this was not the one she wanted to die on. The larger animal needed larger space, it took days to transplant enough grass across and make sure it was healthy before expanding the fencing. Another water filter to help with keeping it healthy, and Cole started to look into the machine that would water for them.

“Shark,” Solas called, there had been a longer delay between sharks. They were able to dispatch it quickly, throwing the guts for the shoals of fish before she went off to collect the metal clinging to the shallows.

The big goat was ambushed while it slept, falling foul of the previous tactic of waiting to see where it slept. Watching Solas shear, it was… well it made up for the scrapes on her legs from the hoofs as they’d carried it back. 

“We need the chicken,” the stinging as she’d gone into the water to carry on stripping the resources making it relevant again.

Cole tried stalking the speedy bird, she’d also tried lying in wait as the others chased it around and around. They spent a full day, to the point where she was ready to kill it and would have succeeded if not for Cole removing all of the arrows from her vicinity.

He’d returned to the raft after they saw the familiar sight of the shark's fin, followed by the noise of it chomping on the metal foundations. It would be unable to easily gnaw through, but they needed them in a repaired state for the rough seas.

Solas missed twice with the net device, hitting her the second time as he’d gotten distracted by Cole jumping up and down waving at them. After Solas had finished laughing at her misfortune, he’d helped untangle her; still it left them with only one net left. 

The chicken was finally backed into a cave, she felt confident. She was Cadash, a strong dwarven female, caves were practically her second home. It was a chicken. 

“On three,” she whispered, Solas on her left as they quietly crept forward. They were going to catch this thing. She was the stone damned Inquisitor, and he was the Immortal prick. They were better than a chicken, they had to be. 

“Three,” he murmured and she pounced, catching it around its legs. The flush of accomplishment as the thing squawked trying to escape her grip. It was like she’d mastered closing the tears all over again.

“We agreed on three,” Solas griped, helping her back onto her feet as she frowned at how to stand without releasing the bird. No tame creature like the goat, as it kept trying to peck at her hands.

“Should have started on one then,” she flashed him a quick smile, they’d done it. They’d caught the chicken, fresh eggs forever. She was glad Cole wasn’t there to correct the thought.

Solas stared at her, before brushing off a bit of dry dirt that clung to her top, his hands skimming the surface as they stood there awkwardly, the chicken flailing in her hands.

“We should head back,” she felt awkward, not only because of the way she kept trying to jump back from her own arm's length, but his eyes were following her. She blamed him for not spotting the tree root as she looked everywhere but at him travelling by her side. She blamed him for not catching her as she fell, the chicken shooting off only to be caught by Cole who reached them moments too late. 

She blamed Solas for how he lifted her up, crouching to check her skin, as he pressed a soft kiss on her palms, one on her forehead as she stared at him. As he pressed his lips against hers, dry, soft, burning her skin with his.

She blamed him for stealing her breath, for making her feel this again for the irritating, immortal prick who was breathtakingly beautiful in the soft light of the darkening sky. She blamed him how Cole stared at them with a question, before he entered the cocoon of comfort, tasting them, comparing with the smallest frown on his forehead.

She blamed him for making their bed a place of more. His warm arms no longer friendly, now they were more. He’d taken her words away, left her spinning with questions that not even Cole knew the answer to as he shrugged at her helplessly.

“Solas?” he looked up at her with a frightening emotion in his eyes.

“Lika?” His voice expressing the emotion she could see but feared.

The slow, steady beep of the machine filled the quiet from the unnaturally still sea, and then another louder beep. They were stopped at a small island letting the animals have fresh food while they replenished their supplies of metal. Another beep - something had appeared on the machine.

A whoop from Cole as he dropped down from trimming the palm tree next to the machine, as she debated asking the question burning on her lips.

“The numbers, they worked!” It was impossible, they’d been here for a couple of days. She wasn’t even sure why Cole had put the machine on, beyond he liked to listen to it.

Solas scrambled past her, pulling her by the hand to follow. The question could wait, as on the image a new spot appeared.

“Onwards?” she whispered.

“Onwards,” her two men agreed, hugging her tightly between them.

**Author's Note:**

> So... until Chapter 2 comes out this is complete. I have no idea what's going to happen beyond there are caravans involved. I have screenshots of how the raft looks at various places if people are interested I'll whack them up somewhere.
> 
> Stay safe out there!


End file.
